British journalist and atheist Gregory Spring reluctantly arrives in Vatican City to cover the upcoming election of a new pope. While on his way to the rooftop location where they will shoot footage for the story, he has a brief meet-cute with Maria and the two lock eyes as she drives away."Meanwhile, Maria returns to the nunnery where she is set to join the ranks in just a few day time. Although her mother doesn't approve, Maria is excited to join the faith and finds comfort with her kind hearted Mother Superior.Gregory and Maria meet again when he finds out she is the daughter of the woman whose rooftop they are using and the pair can't help but feel attracted to each other despite their clash of beliefs.After some awkward interruptions, Maria asks Gregory if he wants to come to a bar with her and he accepts. Maria confesses that she will become a nun in three days and that it is her bachelorette party before she "marries" God. Although skeptical, he sees how serious she is about her decision.While dancing together at the bar, they share an intimate moment and are about to kiss when a freak fire at the DJ booth activates the sprinklers and they are forced to leave. Gregory invites her back to his hotel but while making his way up to his room ahead of her, his keys are stolen by the surprise arrival of a monkey. While talking to the concierge, a thief drives by and also steals his cellphone and wallet.Maria manages to break into the hotel room and they have sex, but promise not to fall in love with each other. The next morning, Maria hints to Gregory to meet her at a bench that overlooks the sunset. Gregory takes the bait and races to get to the location on time but is kidnapped and taken into a van by the anti-mafia unit as a misunderstanding.After spending overnight in custody, Maria confronts Gregory about why he stood her up but she doesn't believe him. He is about to confess his love for her when more strange events start to happen, such as failing speech and hallucinations.It is then that Gregory realizes that these can't just be strange coincidences and that God himself must be stopping him from being with Maria. While interviewing his next civilian, Gregory collapses and is taken into hospital for tests, where the doctors find a large inoperable brain tumor in the shape of a Jesus on the Shroud of Turin.At the same time, Maria arrives back at the convent to find her Mother Superior's body hanging lifeless in her office. The other nuns gossip that Mother Superior was living a double life and had a lover and killed herself because of her personal conflicts. Because of her suicide, she cannot receive a proper burial and Maria is angered that this is the treatment of her friend, prompting her to have her own crisis of faith.Gregory is transferred to another hotel room, a much smaller, run down space as a result of a booking error and he is visited by Maria who want to talk. She tells him she's having second thoughts about the church and that she is in love with him but he quickly shuts her down and says they can't be together because God is jealous of him. Maria thinks he sounds crazy and is instead just being a coward. She kisses him abruptly goodbye and walks way.Suddenly, his luck begins to change and Gregory soon finds himself back on his feet in a luxury hotel room with his phone and wallet returned and a call from the doctor saying his diagnosis was all just a mix-up. Although he should be happy, Gregory is numb to the feeling after being messed around by "God" so much.Meanwhile, Maria decide to leave both the church and Rome to travel to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, the "most atheist city in the world" and she says goodbye to her mother and friends.With the announcement of the newly elected pope imminent, Gregory arrives at the Vatican church for his final report. The cardinals emerge and Gregory is officially introduced to The Pope, who invites Gregory for a one-to-one talk while the cameraman gets set-up.Gregory tells The Pope about God punishing him for falling for Maria and he responds with a theory of a "personal God" penned by Freud, suggesting that he may just projecting his insecurities and fear of commitment onto the deity. The Pope also explains nuances from the bible in that Jesus was sacrificed by God without asking for anything in return, a selfless act to break the cycle of "I give you something, I get something in return", and hugs him just before it's time to get back to the interview.With The Pope's words resonating with him, Gregory has a realization on camera that he was wrong about God keeping them apart and he publicly confesses his love for her, which she sees on a screen in the taxi on her way to the airport. Gregory hands the interview over to his aspiring-presenter and producer Amina while he leaves the church to go to the bench where Maria regularly watches the sunset and he waits.Maria changes her mind about leaving and instead, arrive at the bench, where she sits beside him. They reconcile and share a kiss. The pair walk hand-in-hand into the streets of Rome, unaware that just behind them, another man set to meet a nun at the bench has just been taken into a car like what previously happened to Gregory.